Category: TIFF2012

Some Irish, some British, some Russians a smattering of Africans and Asians who never went to bed and anyone who hopped onto Google.com will have noticed the Bram Stoker Google Doodle this morning at the same time I did around 5:45AM.

It would be his 165th Birthday. If Stoker was a Vampire, he wouldn’t have to roll over in his grave at the pouty, poorly written Vampires making millions at the box office in today’s world. He’d probably head to the nearest Starbucks and get started on another book STAT!

The much anticipated “Seven Psychopaths” opens today in ‘nationwide release’ in the USA, as well as Iceland, Taiwan and part of the 41st Annual Sitges Film Festival in Sitges, Spain, a coastal town 21 miles south of Barcelona.

I saw the premiere and it was an absolute madhouse with one of the biggest star-studded casts ever to grace the Midnight Madness red carpet. I counted 67 media outlets at the September 7th premiere, which was 1 ½ hours late.

“Artifact” is the story of record label EMI and their spirit crushing attempt to destruct Jared Leto and his band Thirty Seconds To Mars.

“Artifact” the rock-umentary on Jared Leto and his band Thirty Seconds to Mars label war with EMI wins the BlackBerry® People’s Choice Documentary Award at the 37th Annual International Toronto International Film Festival.

The documentary “Artifact” is the story of record label EMI and their spirit crushing attempt to destruct and bankrupt Jared Leto and his band ‘Thirty Seconds To Mars‘ with members Sarajevo-born Tomo Miličević and brother Shannon Leto.

The films stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in a dark comedy about a teacher (Cooper), after spending time in a mental institution moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when he meets a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is an independent American film studio founded by Harvey CBE (Hon) and Bob Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979. The Weinstein Company represents “Silver Linings Playbook”.

Harvey Weinstein also represents “The Master” which many filmgoers at TIFF thought would win as it did when it swept up awards at the recent Venice Film Festival. Entertainment Weekly calls it ““one of the great movies of the year!” ”The Master” written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring the strong cast of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams goes into wider release Friday September 21.

“Artifact” (USA) As one of the few present at today’s screening that is not a big “Thirty Seconds To Mars” fan, I have to say, “I get it.” Jared Leto is accessible, charming and of course talented. I first discovered Leto in “The Thin Red Line” and thought he was outstanding in “Requiem for a Dream” (as did everyone else).

Also, the fact that he was born and raised near Shreveport, he gets an automatic cool badge, as I love everything about that state on my 22 visits to Louisiana.

Watching Leto go through the pains of a label war with EMI records showed me a another side of him I never really knew, always striving to be ‘zen-like’ in his approach and reaction to the hailstorm of shit around him while he and his band members, brother Shannon Leto (drums, percussion) and Tomo Miličević (lead guitar, keyboards) try to record a new album. Kudos!

Add “Artifact” to the list of super cool music rock-umentaries that can proudly stand as the spirited* kid brother beside “It Might Get Loud” and “Pearl Jam Twenty“.My upload of the Jared Leto “Artifact” Q&A can be found below.

Miss Lovely” (Mumbai) Story of the Duggan brothers who produce sleazy C-grade horror/porn films in the mid-1980s Bombay. Everything about the film was grimy and unsavory. I would’ve liked to have known from the director if the sets still existed or was it all dressed. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui who played younger brother Sonu reminded me of an early era Tony Curtis)

“Jayne Mansfield’s Car” (USA) Taking place in 1969 Morrison, Alabama, this is the story of a family of 3 brothers and sister ripped apart when their mother leaves them for a life in England 20 years earlier. She’s died and her English step-son calls Alabama to say she wants to be buried back home. Written, directed and starring Billy Bob Thornton, I was expecting something to equal or surpass “Slingblade“. It didn’t. )

I’m writing this blog after the final film in the 24th installment of TIFF Midnight Madness. I just finished my day with “John Dies At The End“, directed by Bubba Ho-tep helmer Don Coscarelli.

Featuring a no-name cast for the exception of genre fave Clancy Brown, this last film was an efficient, funny and fairly fast paced “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” for the Midnight crowd based on the book by John Wong. My blog reviews for some of these films will follow post TIFF 2012.

I get that many of the cast in “Much Ado about Nothing” are from Whedon’s popular TV series, including actor Fran Kranz (who was superb in the film). But, when Nathan Fillion popped up playing Dogberry as a seasoned cop/tired film noir gumshoe, I roared. So did the audience.

I first learned of Nathan Fillion from “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” where he played Johnny Donnelly. TGAGAAPP also brought attention to the much under-used Richard Ruccolo and now Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds. Other than the occasional film, I never watched Nathan Fillion in much until I saw him again in “Desperate Housewives“.

Then last year, I discovered “Castle“. It’s now my guilty pleasure thanks to people urging me on GetGlue to check out the previous seasons.

Nathan Fillion was among a very unusual and fresh feeling cast that makes Whedon’s modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic comedy about two pairs of lovers a clever, thinking-person’s hit at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival. Thank you @JossWhedon. My blog review will follow post TIFF 2012.

Today I also saw:

“Men At Lunch” (Ireland: A moving documentary that unearthed the mystery about who were those 11 men sitting high atop a Manhattan girder having lunch in 1932). My blog review will follow post TIFF

“The ABC’s Of Death” (Various: 26 filmmakers from 15 countries cinematically walk you through an alphabetized list of blood, guts and gore. Many of those filmmakers were in attendance at Midnight Madness. The Q&A was pretty laid back. The standout letters of the film were: D, F, L, O, Q, R, T and X. The runners up were letters A, H, N, S and Y )

What a DAY! 14 hours of film viewing and Q&As. I’m exhausted beyond exhausted but here are some of my highlights:

Alice Lowe and Steve Oram play murderous “Sightseers” in Ben Wheatley’s version of a Bonnie and Clyde tale.

SightseersBy director Ben Wheatley was the unexpected highpoint of my day, filled with murderous mayhem through the English countryside when two sad sack lovers on their first ‘dirty weekend’ together exact their own brand of civil justice. It’s “The Trip” meets “No Country for Old Men”

Sons of the Clouds: The Last ColonyI learned about a part of the world I hear nothing about in the media and the terrible injustice done to the native Sahwari people of northern Africa: the Western Sahara, which has the distinction of being the last “colony” on the African continent.

Smashed
Very small almost Made-for-TV feel independent film about a couple that drinks to celebrate everything, everyday. Unusual casting, but it all works.

Peaches Does Herself
What do you say about a girl who wants it all. Peaches showed up with 18 people from the “Live Show” documentary for the premiere. An added highlight for me was the on-screen appearance of one of the most gorgeous he/she creatures I’ve ever seen. Dannii Daniels absolutely took my breath away. Her presence was totally magnificent.

Come Out and Play
By Russian director now living in Mexico who goes by the moniker “Makinov”. No last name and the film was no good. But, beautifully shot… Midnight Madness crowd left in droves grumbling feedback such as: “That’s the worst movie I’ve ever seen.”, “What the hell what Makinov thinking?”, “What a waste of my time.”…

So glad I only had 2 films to see yesterday. It was ‘Hump Day‘ and believe me I could feel it. I was definitely dragging myself around.

Masato Sakai, Teruyuki Kagawa in the side-splitting “Key of Life”

It was worth it to venture out to see “Key of Life” by Japanese director Kenji Uchida. It was one of my Top picks.

Uchida is known as Japan’s master of screwball comedy and it showed in this hilarious tale about a failed actor who switches identities with a stranger at a bath house — only to find himself filling the shoes of an elite assassin My blog review will follow later this week.